DISSENT AND REVOLUTION: Return of Lenin Flashcards
When did Lenin return to Russia?
April 1917
Why had Lenin enlisted the help of the Germans after the February revolution?
The Germans saw the advantage of allowing Bolsheviks to stir up trouble
Allowed Lenin to travel from exile in Switzerland through Germany
What was Lenin’s ‘Letters from Afar’?
Political programme that made clear that the Party’s job was to lead the people to a second revolution
What did Lenin think at this time about revolution?
The Russian middle class was too weak to crazy through a full ‘bourgeois revolution’
What did Lenin’s April Theses demand?
War should be ended
All land should be taken over by the state and re-allocated to peasants by local soviets
Power should be transferred to the soviets
‘Peace, bread, land’, ‘all power to the soviets’
What was the response to Lenin’s demands?
Some Bolsheviks feared Lenin had grown out of touch
Allegations that Lenin was in the pay of the Germans
Some thought Lenin’s call to oppose the PG was unrealistic as the Bolsheviks were in a minority
So, Lenin abandoned his call to overthrow the PG, took credit for the anti-war demonstration in April, threatened resignation- by the end of April Lenin had won over the majority of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party
Causes of The July Days
Between February and June, grain prices had doubled in Petrograd
Shortages of fuel and raw materials forced the closure of 586 factories
The workers demanded price controls
Course of The July Days
20,000 armed sailors from Kronstadt organised their own demonstration and workers and soldiers joined them
Bolshevik slogans chanted, property attacked, railway stations seized, some even invaded the Tauride Palace
Response to The July Days
Lenin knew that premature revolution risked defeat
The PG brought in reinforcements to crush the demonstrations
Bolsheviks helped force demonstrators out the Peter and Paul Fortress and negotiated the disarming and arrest of the sailors
Bolsheviks blamed for the bloodshed- Pravda offices closed and warrants issued for the arrest of Bolshevik leaders
Cause of the Kornilov Coup
In June 1917, Brusilov led an offensive in Galicia but the advance has beaten back. Desertions escalated and the anti-war sentiment grew
PM Kerensky appointed Kornilvo as new Commander in Chief of the army to restore discipline
Course of the Kornilov Coup
Kornilov ordered troops to march on Petrograd to establish a military dictatorship
Kerensky released imprisoned Bolsheviks and provided workers with weapons to halt Kornilov’s advance
Implications of the Kornilov Coup for the Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks led the organisation of the Red Guards
Bs milked the Propaganda opportunities and poured scorn over Kerensky’s government
Bolshevik membership increased to 200,000 by October
Bolsheviks won a majority in the Moscow and Petrograd soviets in September
How did Lenin demand revolution in September?
Bombarded the 12 man central committee with letters
Threatened to reign from the central committee but Kamenev and Zinoviev urged restraint. They refused to agree to an armed rising, fearing Russia wasn’t economically ready for revolution
How did Trotsky prepare for revolution?
Sent Bolshevik speakers around the factories, whipping up support
Set up a Military Revolutionary Committee
Commissars ensured loyalty to the Soviet and issued orders and organised weapon supplies
